A City Frozen in Time
The year 79 AD would have seemed just like any other year in the Roman city of Pompeii. Each day,the streets were filled with the sounds of busy shops and customers enjoying the city's many cafes.People bathed and chatted happily in the beautifully built baths.
No one gave any thought to Mount Vesuvius,a volcano close to Pompeii.Vesuvius had been inactive for years.The soil in that area was good for agriculture.The people of Pompeii had no reason to fear the volcano.But the sleeping mountain was about to wake up...
The eruption when it happened,was unlike anything witnessed before.A huge cloud of hot ash and rock rose into the air,covering the surrounding area.Pompeii was left in total darkness.
A young man,watching from a distance,recorded how the thick dark cloud spread everywhere.He described how people were frightened by the sudden disaster.They took what they could as they tried to get away from the city.But many were trapped by falling buildings.
Suddenly,there was a powerful flow of gas,ash and rock.It moved down Vesuvius at a speed of about 450 kilometres an hour.When it reached Pompeii,it immediately killed anyone in its path.The city was covered by up to six metres of ash.Pompeii became a city frozen in time.
Pompeii was rediscovered in the mid-18th century.Many bodies have been found in the same positions in which they fell.Work continues to uncover the rest of the city-and the ancient stories it has to tell.
Translation to be continued~